Hamilton: ‘FIA has been too tough on McLaren’

bbj.hu

Tuesday, October 30, 2007, 09:57

Lewis Hamilton has accused the FIA of being too hard on McLaren, but admits his team needs to steer clear of trouble next season.

This year’s Championship has seen McLaren dogged by controversy not only on the track but also off it. The Woking team has been penalized on at least two occasions by the FIA. Motorsport’s governing body not only prevented McLaren from scoring Constructors’ points in Hungary as a result of a qualifying fiasco between Hamilton and Fernando Alonso but eventually kicked Ron Dennis’ team out of the teams’ championship in the wake of the Stepneygate saga.

McLaren were also handed an unprecedented £50million fine for their part in the scandal that rocked F1. And although Hamilton believes the FIA have been unnecessarily harsh on his team, he concedes that next year they have to be „squeaky clean.” „They’re obviously tough on us, maybe more than on others,” he said on Sky News. „Next year, we know what to expect. We should keep our heads down, levelheaded and just get on with it. You just focus on your job and just try to keep it squeaky clean, do everything perfect.”

McLaren are once again set to meet the FIA in a courtroom when they face the Court of Appeals of November 15th. However, this time it’s McLaren who are doing the appealing. The Woking team has appealed the Brazilian GP race stewards’ decision not to penalize Williams or BMW for fuel irregularities during the season-ending race. Should Dennis’ outfit be successful, Hamilton may be handed the points that would see him overhaul Kimi Raikonnen as World Champion. But whatever the outcome, the Brit insists he’s still happy with his first season in F1.

„The beginning of the season I was saying I just want to do a good job, keep my feet on the ground and just do a good job for the team and not embarrass myself and my family and friends,” he said. „It’s just been a phenomenal rollercoaster. I don’t live with regrets. It’s something I’ve learnt to deal with over the years. „Take a step back. If you’d have said 12 months ago, I’d be challenging for the World Championship, finishing second in the World Championship, I’d have been happy with it. Finishing fifth would have been great.

„I’ve reached my goal, I’ve got to Formula One. Obviously, there’s another step I want to take which is becoming World Champion but I’m 22 years old, my first year in Formula One, I’ve got time to do that.” (planet-f1)

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